Above: Secretary Cohan and local officials prepare to cut the ribbon on the newly completed West Street Trail in Dover Friday.
The Delaware Department of Transportation (DelDOT) and the City of Dover cut the ribbon for the newly completed West Street Trail in Dover on Friday. The West Street Trail is an ADA-accessible route for bicyclists and pedestrians to travel through Dover and connect with the Dover Transit Center on Queen Street.
The $400,000 trail includes an 8-to-10-foot-wide multi-use path that runs along South West Street, between West Water Street and West North Street. Along West North Street, the trail includes a 5-foot-wide sidewalk. The project added a concrete pedestrian refuge in the island at the intersection. Improved drainage and a safer railroad crossing were also part of the project. The total length of the trail is about three tenths of a mile long.
Eighty percent of the project’s cost was paid by federal Congestion Mitigation and Air Quality funds, which support projects that reduce traffic and air pollution. Twenty percent of the project’s cost was borne by DelDOT’s capital budget.
“The completion of the West Street trail is another important link in the transportation network within the City of Dover. It connects many of the city’s residents with the Dover Transit Center, where thousands each month connect to DART service throughout the state,” said DelDOT Secretary Jennifer Cohan. “By enabling more people to travel without their own vehicles, projects like the West Street Trail reduce traffic congestion and pollution.”
The West Street Trail was championed by the City of Dover and its bicycle and pedestrian subcommittee. It was laid out in Dover Pedestrian Improvements Master Plan.
“Since my first bicycle as a child it has afforded me many hours of pleasure and freedom. It has given me the opportunity, then and now, to explore places not easily accessed by automobiles,” said Dover Mayor Robin Christiansen. “Today, the City of Dover has partnered with the State of Delaware to bring that freedom back safely to all of our citizens. Bicycling affords each of us the opportunity to experience once again, whether we are 8 or 80, that freedom and sense of adventure.”
“The City of Dover through our Bicycling and Pedestrian Subcommittee has enjoyed a fabulous relationship with DelDOT advancing numerous projects in the past few years,” said James Hutchison, chairman of the city’s bicycle and pedestrian subcommittee. “We truly support the efforts of not only closing the gaps in the bicycle/pedestrian network within Dover, but also to connect trail systems that offer users safe routes for cycling and pedestrianized travel by connecting to pathways leading out of the city limits. We very much appreciate the opportunity to have been involved in this project!”
“The West Street Trail is a small project, but it is an important one because it connects Dover’s growing low-stress bicycle network to the Dover Transit Center. That’s an example of connecting the modes at the nodes – where we increase the utility of both our bicycle and our transit networks by making sure they fit seamlessly together,” said James Wilson, Bike Delaware executive director.
Reybold Construction, based in Bear, constructed the trail, beginning in April 2018.